


At the start of forever

by Lyrishadow



Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-31
Updated: 2016-07-31
Packaged: 2018-07-28 11:45:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7638943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lyrishadow/pseuds/Lyrishadow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A wedding to attend... A pretend date that could well be the real thing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	At the start of forever

**Author's Note:**

> Tamarillo is my character on my alt server to my main.

 

Torian had been with them a few months when Tamarillo got a call from an old friend.   
“Damn.” She was muttering in her quarters as he walked past.  
The door was open so he paused “You ok not hurt again?”   
“Yes...no..” She ran a hand through her hair. Torian could see a pile of dresses on her bed, he leant on the doorframe.   
“You need a hand?” He wondered what he could do to help but wanted to offer.  
“My friend is getting married, some big do on Nar Shaddaa and I'm the odd one out..”  
“Odd one out?” He caught a glimpse of lace stockings and fought the blush as he imagined her in them. He had liked her from the start, a crush his alit called it. He remembered celebrating her great hunt win, how the light had caught on her red hair, blinking he pulled his mind back to the present.  
“I'm not beautiful, not sophisticated, hardly society holo page material.” She grumbled. “And I don't even have a date.”  
“Maybe I could pretend to be your date?” His mouth offered before his brain realised and threw all kinds of red warnings up.  
She turned to him, “You sure? They always stare at these things..and take pictures.”  
“Sure. I can get a suit someplace.” He nodded then asked “ thought you grew up poor?”  
“I did. My friend did. But she went on to design some amazing tech or other…”  
He nodded “So it's not your friend who you are worried about?”  
“Hell no, Dar wouldn't care if I wore a sack.” Tam laughed “though these clothes are things she sends me, not my usual style but way nicer than I can afford.”  
“I'm not sure if Beskar'gam is a style.” Torian replied ruefully. “But you still pull it off.”  
Her smile rewarded his offhand compliment.   
“So travel with me to Nar Shaddaa via shuttle I don't want to drag everyone along?”   
“Of course“   
“Torian?”  
“Yeah?”   
“Thanks.”  
He turned to go pausing a moment.  
“You are wrong about one thing.” She frowned looking up at him.  
“You are beautiful.” He left quickly before she saw the flush on his face.   
Tam sat staring after Torian. Good gravy did I just agree to a date with him not just a date but a week away? Wait, did he just call me beautiful?

“Mako!!” She yelled desperate for the clarity of her friend.  
“You know it's not a huge ship, you don't have to yell so loudly.” Mako sprung up the steps to her room and grunted as Tam grabbed her arm and pulled her inside, closing the door behind. Tam looked terrified.  
“Haven't seen you look that worried since you stepped in akk dog stuff on Hutta.”  
“I just agreed to take Torian to Dar’mithren’s wedding.”  
“Wait you know Dar? The one who made….” Tam was nodding   
“Yes and I'm meant to go to her wedding … “   
“And Torian offered to… Oh I see now.” Mako cackled some, when she regained her composure Tamarillo was staring at her. “ Ahem. You like him.”

“He's..I ...its…” Tam tried and failed to find the words of denial instead she nodded sadly.  
“Hey now, it's not a bad thing… He likes you too. “  
“How…”  
“I tried flirting with him, and he straight out told me he was interested in someone else.”  
“Oh stars.” Tam sighed dramatically “ this is why I don't have a boyfriend…it’s too dang confusing.”  
“Torian likes you Tam, in fact the way he volunteers for hunts is proof enough.”   
Tam sighed then pointed to the clothes on the bed. “That is my other problem.”  
“ Dar is providing you accommodation?” Tam nodded.  
“ Then we need a full week's worth of wardrobe.” Mako moved quickly and had selected and tossed aside the necessary clothes.

Taking her luggage down she glanced at Torian who Mako had gone to help next. He looked delicious. His muscles seem accentuated by the casual clothes he wore. Tam suddenly felt shy and couldn't speak.  
“Let's go.” Torian took her bags from her as they left.  
The shuttle to Nar Shaddaa took a good day and a half to travel. They arrived after dinner in the evening.  
“Good to have a break.” Torian noted.   
“ Yes it is.. And thank you.”  
“ For?”  
“Coming with me.”  
“I'd do a lot of things for you, you saved my life on Taris.”  
“You don't owe me though.”  
“I know, let me rephrase that, I value that you did.”

A private speeder was waiting to take them to the boutique hotel that Dar had picked.  
“Miss Tamarillo” The hotel guy spoke in broken basic and stared at his ledger “ we are full tonight…and Miss Dar ordered best room for you.” He pointed at Torian “is ok you share the room perhaps?”  
She glanced at Torian and nodded seeing no other choices “I guess.”   
“We give you free bubbly wine’ we sorry.”

“Sorry, Dar is used to me coming solo to events.” She said as they came into a small double room, the comfortable looking bed almost called to her. Glancing around she saw no sofa.  
“ Tired.” he shrugged nodding “I can camp on the floor.”  
“No.. really.. You don’t have to. Its plenty big enough for two of us.” Tam knew the bed would be very comfortable Dar did her best to spoil her friend when she could. She was not about to let Torian sleep on the floor.  
“Ok.” Torian agreed because he knew she would be restless if he didn't and the bed looked inviting.

Neither of them thought past the actual sleeping part, that they would be thrown together quite literally.  
Sleep came quickly, both of them were worn out by the trip through to Nar Shaddaa.

An early night meant that Torian was awake before light. He was a naturally early riser, and for a second he forgot where he was, and was startled to find Tam was cuddled up close next to him, somewhere in the night she had rolled over and her hand was on his chest.   
Torian’s pulse was quickened, he had only worn long cotton sleeping pants to bed and Tam had worn an oversized shirt. He had wondered briefly if it was a boyfriend's shirt and the feeling had left him lost. He had asked Mako if she had a boyfriend, hoping to figure it out but Mako had shrugged moodily and refused to answer.

He watched her sleep - he had little choice if he moved she would wake up and he wasn’t quite ready to lose the sense of having her near. Her red hair, undone from her ponytail flowed loose around her head. She sighed and smiled in her sleep. It made him wonder what she was dreaming about. He blushed when he realised he hoped it was him.

She was different to other people he knew, she hadn't denied him friendship based on his clan. She could have, it would not have surprised him. The last girl to even look his way stopped talking to him after finding out he was a Cadera. Newly adopted to Mandalore’s clan she was within her rights to pick and choose who she spent her time with. She had chosen to spend it with him, more than that to be seen in public with him.

Torian closed his eyes evenly breathing so he seemed asleep, it helped him relax, more a sniper's trick than real sleep. He felt her move slightly, but leaving her hand where it was.  
“Torian?” Her voice was soft, possibly the sweetest thing he’d heard in awhile.  
“Hi.” He felt silly immediately and blushed.  
“You let me stay here…” She seemed confused a little but her hand was softly running over his chest and he was struggling not to get aroused by it. His breath caught. Shakily he replied with the only thing he could.  
“I like having you here.”   
He saw an old shadow pass over her before she lifted herself up so she had both hands on him. Leaning in she kissed him, a long, deliberate kiss.  
He returned the kiss, knowing it was going to complicate everything.

“I'm sorry.” She pulled away. Her face was flushed as she looked at him.  
“Why?” He fought the urge to kiss her again. Instead his arms snaked their way around her to hold her.  
“I didn't exactly give you….” She sighed “ I can't.”  
He frowned confused.  
“You deserve someone better than me.” She said almost so quietly that he struggled to hear.  
“Tam I would say the same exact thing to you. I don't want to complicate things for you.”  
But stars she belonged there, in his arms, and if she turned him down now it would be hard on his heart.

“ Torian,” her voice was pained now she buried her face against his chest and he felt her tears and knew she was crying. It tore at him, both because he cared deeply, and because she was a tough hunter, it took a lot for her to cry.  
“Hey,” he tightened his arms “ tell me what's wrong Cyare?”   
“What did you call me?”  
It had come out so naturally he blushed “Mando’a for ‘beloved”.  
“OK the list my head is making ..this was meant to be something else…..I suck at relationships. I'm too old for you, you deserve so much better..my past..” She shook her head “ beloved?”   
He sat up a little trying to think through her arguments.  
“Here, look at me.” He let her turn so she was looking at him, he saw misery in her eyes. “If you like me half as much as I love you.” He paused, it was one thing knowing he wanted her permanently in his life, quite another to confess it. “Then these few days are what they are planned or not. I'm 18, old enough to know what and who I want.” He said softly noting she blushed. “ As for past.” He gestured to himself “ my clan is… And you are Mandalore’s vod, his champion.”  
“You don't know where I came from before the great hunt.” She pointed out “ and I'm 25… “ she blinked then as if hearing his first statement. “You love me…”   
He nodded. He had fallen pretty hard for her.  
“Listen Tam, I've not had a relationship before.. Not really.”  
“ I..” She looked horrified then. “ oh stars sakes Torian I'm already screwing up.”   
“Not really the way I see it.” He laughed wrapping his arms around her tighter “ having you here… It's right.”  
“ I'm not new to relationships. Some better than others. Some so much worse than others.” She ran her hand over her face. That shadow passed again.  
“Then tell me.” He said “ let me help mend the hurt others have done, and know this, while I'm around no one will hurt you again.”  
“I don't know…” Tamarillo sighed “ I'm 25 now. I was 14 but with my first boyfriend I was quite young, too young too naive. Stars my parents would have killed me if they knew how I behaved. He convinced me to do things and try things…”   
He noticed she looked away, and he realised she carried more shame and anger than she ever let on to anyone.  
“It's not going to change anything.” Torian replied, “ or how I feel about you.”  
“Sometimes, you are so much more mature than me.” Tam said “ That sounds far more awkward than intended.”  
He smiled and pulled her close, this moment he found his home with her.   
“Where does that leave us now?” She asked relaxing against him.  
“It leaves us at the start of forever.” He replied, folding his arms around her. “Ni kar’taylir darasuum, I love you forever, however long that may be.”


End file.
